sword spider riders online
by Willow Clarice West
Summary: the world of sword art online meets the world of spider riders.
1. Chapter 1

Eleven-year-old Hunter Steel searches for the legendary inner world by following the instructions in his grandfather's journal. He enters a cave where he finds a mysterious manacle that attaches itself to him. A spider startles Hunter, who falls into a hole to the center of the Earth and into the subterranean world of Arachna. There, he discovers a small group of elite warriors struggling to survive and to save Arachna from the attack of giant insect mutants. The warriors are children, each fighting with the help of their own 10 ft (3.0 m) battle spiders. They call themselves "Spider Riders". In the English TV series, the ages of the characters were reduced. ... There is a prophecy that says a surface-dweller or Earthen, like Hunter, will bring disaster to the Inner World. Sparkle mentions it in the beginning of the TV series. When Princess Sparkle finds out she says, "I wonder if he will bring doom to us...or to them."

The Oracle Keys are fractions of the Oracle's power. They are cards that can be split in two. The Invectids hope to gain them for Mantid, who wants to use their power to rule Arachna. The Oracle uses much of her strength to protect them. The Spirit Oracle Key passes its power onto Hunter and Shadow, giving them new armor and weapons as well as new abilities.

To activate these keys, the holder must shout "Oracle's Light!". Two in combination can create more powerful armor and weapons. The wielder must have a sincere desire to protect without arrogance, otherwise the keys will not work. The Oracle Key from Nuuma was called by Corona, using her power, to let Hunter use it without having to hold it. Mantid used two of the Oracle's keys to power himself, plunging the Inner World into darkness and preventing Hunter from using his own keys.

Currently the locations of the four Oracle Keys are known in the English version:

Found in the Oracle's shrine in Arachna, the first key is taken by Hunter and Shadow, who retain possession of it throughout the series.

The second key is brought to Arachna by a page from Nuuma. Hunter and Shadow have it in their possession for most of the series, though it was briefly taken by Aqune and Portia.

The third key is initially kept in a sanctuary in Nuuma and allows the castle to float in the sky via the Oracle's power. It is taken by Aqune for the Invectids, but ends up in the possession of Hunter and Shadow during the final battle against Mantid.

The fourth key held by Mantid powers Castle Mantid and sustains Mantid throughout the series until he steals the Oracle's power and abandons it. It ends up in the possession of Hunter and Shadow during the final battle against Mantid.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hunter Steele**Voiced by: Motoko Kumai (Japanese), Julie Lemieux (English)

A boy who falls into the subterranean Inner World, and becomes a Spider Rider with his newfound battle spider "partner", Shadow. They both argue quite a lot, mainly because of Hunter's cluelessness, ignorance and Shadow's pride and desire to work alone as well as the belief that he doesn't need the help of others. It is unknown whether the prophecy refers to him, thus it is unknown if he is destined to be Arachna's salvation or its destruction. It is also shown in the TV series that he has affections for Corona and admires her good spirit but is too shy to share them. In the episode "Smells Like Team Spider," he unknowingly stares at Corona while she is marveling at the flowers. When they are battling the Invectids, his mind is calmed by the image of Corona's face. Lastly, when Igneous asks what changed Hunter's mind about the flowers, he becomes a bit embarrassed as it was Corona's image that changed him. Also, since Corona was the first person to discover Hunter, he has known her for the longest time, besides Shadow. Hunter may have a romantic relationship with Corona and their spiders might too. He also caught Corona in her sleeping shirt once in which she threw her pillow at him. Hunter's grandfather Digger Steele was also a Spider Rider and an earthen. Digger Steele knew the hero Quake. Hunter's weapon is an Axial Pike. When he gains the power of an oracle key, his left shoulder pad grows larger and can shoot webs and his special attack is electra twist. When he uses 2 oracle keys, his right shoulder pad transforms, gets a larger shield, a long sword, two non-flying wings grow and his special attack is blue bolt. When he uses 3 or 4 keys, his wings retract and grow 4 metal spider legs and his special attack is blue wave. His catchphrase and motto is, "Never Give Up!"

**Corona**

Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese), Stacey DePass (English) Discovering Hunter and Shadow, she escorts the new team to Arachna so they may be officially inducted to the ranks of the Spider Riders. She seems to care a lot for Hunter, as does her spider for Shadow. She also has romantic feelings for Hunter. She glows (using her power) most of the time when Hunter is deeply in battle and gets hurt. This proves that she could be the Oracle's chosen one just like Aqune. She becomes especially worried when Hunter is hurt or in danger and becomes quite jealous when Hunter's guy nature foolishly allows him to mention spending some time the night before with an unknown girl (Princess Sparkle) by pushing him into the fountain he slept next to that night. In "Hunter's Holiday," Corona clearly expresses her desire to spend some time with Hunter alone but when he refuses she takes out her rage by practicing on targets with Hunter's face on them. At the last episode, she says "My Hunter." Though she is taller and more mature than Hunter, both are the same age (stated to be eleven, though they act around twelve to thirteen years old. In the Japanese version, both are thirteen). She and her battle spider, Venus, make a great team. She has no family and was adopted by twins. When they found her, Corona had a manacle. They as well as Corona's home town believe she is dating Hunter. It was revealed that she is Aqune's long lost sister (she appears to be younger but this is unknown) and that they are both "Oracle Handmaids". Her weapons are a bow and arrows.

**Igneous**

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Tim Hamaguchi (English) A leading Spider Rider and captain of the Arachna military. His name mirrors Magma's—when magma cools, it becomes igneous rock. Igneous is calm, gentle and has quite a strategic mind. Igneous takes Hunter's training seriously and almost acts as a mentor to Hunter, to his annoyance. He challenged Hunter and Shadow to a duel when they joined the Riders, but it was only to see if Hunter could cooperate with Shadow. Igneous was part of the Arachna Knights, where he teamed up with a long-time friend Slate. Both were known as "Claw" and "Fang" and they proved to be quite powerful, especially since Igneous didn't call his spider Flame to assist. Regardless of his grade, Igneous is proud to serve the royalty of the Arachna Kingdom, and always offers his help to prince Lumen and princess Sparkle. His weapon is a cavalry lance and one of his attacks is a flamethrower coming out of the tip of the lance. He has a crush on the Queen of Nuuma, Illuma, which resulted in Igneous being temporarily heart-broken. Igneous had a fan club of Arachna's castle's females, but while he was away to Nuuma, they had found boyfriends, leaving him crushed. He is also afraid of ghosts, but won't admit it and says they don't exist(Although he has seen the Lost Mariner).

**Prince**** Lumen**

Voiced by: Kumiko Higa (Japanese), Cameron Ansell (English) Leader of the Spider Riders and the prince of Arachna. He is rather lazy for a ruler, preferring diplomatic solutions over fights, even against the Invectid. Some say it is because his spider, Ebony, is so powerful that he is afraid to let it loose. He would much rather negotiate with the enemy, and only fight when absolutely needed. Lumen is bright, loquacious, and loves cute girls. His weapon is a chain sword.

**Princess**** Sparkle**

Voiced by: Kaori Shimizu (Japanese), Melanie Tonello (English) Prince Lumen's younger sister who is also a Spider Rider. She is the one who points out that Hunter might save, not destroy, the Inner World. She also visits Hunter in the night and advises him to bond with Shadow and when Hunter first sees her, he blushes while she giggles. Sparkle is very adventurous. Her spider is Hotarla, and is very small. Her weapon of choice is a yo yo-like device, with which she pummeled Grasshop to submission when he was trying to get away with one of the keys. She was the first one to trust Grasshop, causing him to change his ways. She is also the only one who calls him "Uncle Hop".

**Magma**

Voiced by: Kotani Kinya (Japanese), Lyon Smith (English) Not affiliated with the Arachna military, he is a "lone rider" with his partner, Brutus. He made a promise to find the purple spider Portia, supposed to be Brutus's younger sister, and this promise keeps him from joining the ranks of Arachna. He later joins up with Hunter and the others to prevent the Invectids from stealing the Oracle Keys. He is somewhat obsessed with rescuing Portia from the Invectids. Magma is a great admirer of the hero Quake; each time he sees Quake in action, he has tears streaming from his eyes. His weapon is a mace that can switch to a flail.

**Aqune**

Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese), Alyson Court (English) Aqune (pronounced "A-coo-nay") is a Spider Rider in the service of the Invectid Buguese. Aqune wears a mask that covers her face, which contains a mind control device. She has a deep sense of honor: while fighting Hunter and being unmasked, they both fell from a cliff, and Aqune took care of Hunter and refused to fight him because he was injured and weakened. Then after Buguese found them, Buguese tried to destroy Hunter once and for all but Aqune parries his blow, making him cease attack. Aqune is Mantid's weapon ready to use against the Riders. It seems that Buguese found her and her spider lost in the Forest of Bewilderment where anyone who enters become disoriented and cannot find the exit. The website itself claims that she was banned after caring for a weakened enemy and was taken into by the Invectids. Buguese seems to call her "Oracle's Chosen" and uses her to find the Oracle Keys. When unmasked, Aqune cares much for Hunter, as she showed this by giving the Oracle Key back to Hunter. In episode "Paradise", her mask is broken, releasing her and Portia from Buguese's control. This lasts for only a few episodes however. In "Reunions", Buguese plants a new mask on her, returning her to the side of evil. Queen Illuma has revealed Aqune is Corona's sister. She uses a glaive when unarmored, but her weapon of choice when transformed is a long sword. Aqune is a better cook than Corona. In "Welcome Back," Buguese releases her from the control of her mask, permanently.

**King**** Arachna I**

The first Spider Rider known for defeating the Invectid army in ancient times, which brought the Spider Riders' creation. He even stopped Mantid from taking the Oracle Keys. He may be an Earthen.

**Brade/Quake**

The legendary Spider Rider made famous by a play that praises his ability to destroy the evil within enemies without taking their lives. It is rumored that he brought an Oracle Key to Nuuma. Quake was last seen with The Lost Mariner, during Quake's voyage to Nuuma. Currently Quake has given up fighting and resides in a forest, taking on the form of a small old man. He helps Hunter and Aqune escape Buguese's attack and uses his power to bring all of the Spider Riders' deepest desires to come true in hope to get Hunter to never fight again. However, Hunter's bravery and stubbornness made Quake drop his spell. After repelling the Invectids through the use of his staff, Quake opened a portal so the Spider Riders could continue to Nuuma Castle. Later, Quake decided to join the Human-Invectid war and remarked that Hunter was as foolish as his grandfather, who he must have met before. It was also revealed that he fought with Mantid in the past and lost. He retreated to a forest to wait for the right moment to fight back. It is later revealed that he has been storing his power since then for the moment that the eight Spider Riders would appear and be able to defeat Mantid once and for all. When he becomes a Spider Rider again, he regains his youthful appearance. After the final battle, Quake joins the Lost Mariner and fades away as a ghost.

**Trigger Steele/Digger Steele**

He is Hunter Steele's grandfather. Like his grandson Hunter, he also was an Earthen. Digger was the one who taught Hunter to never give up. It is hinted in episode 12 that Digger was the one who thwarted Mantid's plan in the past. In the first episode hunter said his grandfather talked about the innerworld a lot when he was alive suggesting he is now dead. He also fought alongside Quake in the old years as a spider rider.


	3. Chapter 3

Battle Spiders[edit]

Here are the Spider Riders' Battle Spiders:

**Shadow**

Voiced by: Takashi Kondo (Japanese), Joseph Motiki (English) Hunter's spider (though Shadow disagrees in the beginning), a prideful warrior who thinks he doesn't need a rider and is also very stubborn and won't admit when he's wrong, especially one who may be destined to bring disaster to Arachna (i.e., Hunter). He hates large crowds. He is said to have legendary strength. He complains about most of the things Hunter does, though they make a very good team. When he uses an oracle key his two front legs grow more sturdy and his abdomen become more armored. When he uses 2 oracle keys, his two front legs grow abnormally longer and straight. When he uses 3 or 4 keys two hands emerge and two legs grow. Shadow is a direct descendant of the Ancestral, Lord of Spiders. Shadow cares for Venus.

**Venus**

Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese), Caroly Larson (English) Corona's spider. She is soft-spoken and gentle, but is fearless in battle. She also cares for Shadow.

**Flame**

Igneous' silent spider. He has the ability to shoot webs made out of fire.

**Ebony**

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake Lumen's spider. Said to be very powerful and destructive, this restrains Lumen to call it out, for fear of accidentally hurting someone. When he does call him out, 'he means business' according to Igneous. He doesn't talk after his first appearance, but finally talks (much to the Spider Riders' amazement) to persuade his Rider, Prince Lumen to take his sister through the Labyrinth to get to Mantid's Castle.

**Hotarla**

Voiced by: Yuu Asakawa (Japanese), Grace Fulliton (English) Sparkle's spider. Unlike the other spiders, she is not a spider ready for battle and has distinctive large eyes. She'd rather not take risks.

**Brutus**

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Japanese), Darren Frost (English) Magma's spider. He has tremendous strength, and is looking for his sister, Portia.

**Portia**

Voiced by: Kumiku Higa Aqune's spider. She is Brutus's missing sister. Like Aqune, Portia wears a mask over her face that controls her. She is known for her unique purple color.

**Dagger**

Quake's spider. He is said to be a legendary battle spider. And said to be the strongest of all. 


End file.
